Pramoedya Ananta Toer

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Biography

Pramoedya Ananta Toer was born in Blora, East Java in 1925. His father was a headmaster and his mother a rice trader. However, the family was in financial straits, as the father gambled heavily. He left school early to train as a telegraph technician but cared for his mother at the beginning of the war. When she died, he worked for a Japanese news agency and then trained as a stenographer. After the war Sukarno declared Indonesian independence but the Dutch colonial forces returned. Toer fought with the Indonesian independence forces against the Dutch and was imprisoned in 1947, staying in prison till Indonesian independence in 1949. He wrote his first novel, Perburuan (The Fugitive), while in prison. After independence, Toer joined various left-wing groups, including the Communist Party. When Suharto took power, he crushed the communists and Toer was sentenced to fourteen years imprisonment. It was during this period that he composed the Buru Quartet for which he is famous, even though he had to memorise what he had composed as he was not allowed pen or paper. When they were finally written and published, they were soon banned. After his release from prison he was put under house arrest but was released, following international pressure. He continued to produce writings critical of the Indonesian government. He died in 2006.

Bibliography

1947 Kranji-Bekasi Jatuh
1950 Perburuan (The Fugitive)
1950 Subuh: Tjerita-tjerita pendek revolusi
1950 Pertjikan revolusi (stories)
1950 Keluarga Gerilya
1951 Mereka yang dilumpuhkan
1951 Bukan Pasar Malam (It’s Not An All Night Fair)
1951 Dia Yang Menyerah
1952 Tjerita dari Blora (All That Is Gone) (stories)
1953 Gulat di Jakarta
1954 Korupsi
1954 Midah: Simanis bergigi emas
1957 Tjerita dari Djakarta: Sekumpulan karikatur keadaan dan manusianja (Tales from Djakarta) (stories)
1957 Tjerita Tjalon Arang
1957 Cerita Calon Arang (The King, the Witch, and the Priest)
1958 Suatu Peristiwa di Banten Selatan
1958 Sekali peristiwa di Banten Selatan
1960 Hoa Kiau di Indonesia
1960 Kerdja sama kebudajaan untuk perkokoh perdamaian dunia
1962 Ditepi kali Bekasi
1962 Panggil aku Kartini sadja, Djepara 25 Mei 1899
1963 Tjerita dari Blora
1963 Realisme Sosialis & Sastra Indonesia
1964 Bukan pasar malam
1964 Sedjarah modern Indonesia: Babak perintis
1972 Bumi manusia
1975 A Heap of Ashes (stories)
1979 Bumi manusia (This Earth of Mankind)
1980 Anak semua bangsa (Child of All Nations)
1982 Gadis Pantai (The Girl from the Coast)
1982 Sikap dan Peran Kaum Intelektual di Dunia Ketiga
1985 Sang pemula dan karya-karya non-fiksi (jurnalistik), fiksi (cerpen/novel) R. M. Tirto Adhi Soerjo (biography)
1985 Jejak Langkah (Footsteps)
1987 Rumah Kaca (House of Glass)
1989 Daigdig ng tao
1995 Arrus balik
1995 Nyanyi sunyi seorang bisu (The Mute’s Soliloquy) (memoirs)
1999 Arok Dedes
2000 Larasati
2000 Mangir, Gramedia
2006 Jalan Raya Pos

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